"Please don''t make me..." Tucker pleaded, sitting on the edge of the sofa with his hands resting primly on his knees. "Me teaching you would be like trying to teach a fish to swim."


    Seeing him so worked up, Juniper pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright, how about this," she said seriously. "At school, we''ll maintain our professor-student rtionship for appearance''s sake. But in private, I''ll teach you."


    "That sounds perfect!" Tucker immediately sat up straight and nodded without hesitation. "Master, we''ll do it just as you say."


    A faint smile touched Juniper''s lips as she narrowed her eyes. "You were just waiting for me to say that, weren''t you, you old fox?"


    "You have to keep your word!" Tucker stood up and started backing toward the door. "In private, you''ll be my teacher. You get some rest now. I won''t disturb you any


    longer."


    The door clicked shut behind him.


    "Tsk." Juniper chuckled softly and settled back onto the sofa.


    A few momentster, the door opened again, and Shanley walked in.


    "I saw the video from thepetition," Shanley said, setting a small cake and a smoothie down next to her. He sat beside her, his deep eyes fixed on her as a smile yed on his lips. "You''re really something, Miss Null."


    "It was alright,” Juniper mumbled through a mouthful of cake, ncing up at the man beside her.


    "Hah," Shanley let out a softugh, his gaze intensely focused on her. His voice was husky as he asked, "I heard Cybeic Shadows once sent you an invitation with an astronomical sry. Why didn''t you ept?"


    He was genuinely curious why Juniper disliked Cybeic Shadows so much.


    The mention of the organization soured Juniper''s mood, and even her favorite dessert lost its appeal.


    “What?” she began, turning to face Shanley. Her eyes were dark, and her voice wasced with ice. "The Schwartz Group doesn''t have business dealings with Cybeic Shadows, does it?"


    She recalled that Shanley had contacted them during his previous investigations into her brother''s whereabouts.


    "Hmm?" Shanley''s heart skipped a beat under her intense stare, but he maintained a calm facade. "I contacted them a few times to get information while I was helping you look for your brother," he answered with a smile Other than that there''s no connection."


    “Really?” Juniper narrowed her eyes, her expression clearly saying, *If you admit to having a rtionship with them, I''ll take you down.* She waspletely serious.


    "Of course," Shanley said, his heart pounding as he took her hand, using a smile to mask his unease. "What''s the deal between you and Cybeic Shadows? Did someone there bully you? so, just telome and I''ll take care of them for you."


    As far as he could remember, he hadn''t had any contact with Juniper in those years,


    so he couldn''t have possibly offended her.


    Juniper wanted to exin, but the leader of Sigma Network—that old bastard—had done so many things to anger her that she didn''t even know where to begin.


    "Forget it,” she grumbled, picking up her fork to resume eating her cake. "I don''t like Cybeic Shadows, so the Schwartz Group is forbidden from working with them."


    "What if..." Shanley leaned closer, testing the waters. "What if we absolutely have to work with them for something?"


    "Isn''t there Binary Oracle?" Juniper shot back immediately. "They''re the two biggest hacker organizations in the world. Binary Oracle has won the World Hacker Competition for three years in a row. Wouldn''t it be better to work with them than Cybeic Shadows?"